


Sakuragi Yuu Week

by VoicesOfChaos



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: F/M, Gen, Week Of Sakuragi Yuu
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-09
Updated: 2016-06-09
Packaged: 2018-07-13 23:49:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,905
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7143503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoicesOfChaos/pseuds/VoicesOfChaos
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>2 short-stories written for Sakuragi Yuu week on Tumblr.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: Action Field

Yuu was panting out of breathe. He had just ran the track course again and he still hadn't beaten his best time. He decided to take a break from cardio and do some leg weight-lifting. All of this exercising was so annoying to him. He had new cards to analysis and deck lists to compare yet he was stuck here, practicing his dueling in a much more exhausting way.

During the last the finals of the last tournament Yuu barely won game one. By game two he couldn't obtain any action cards as his opponent was just more physically fit than him and had more stamina. Yuu had been worn out from several rounds of action duels all day. He lost game two quite pitifully. As the third and final game of the champion match began almost all the spectators were sure Yuu would lose. He was only able to win by an extremely lucky opening hand and draws. He needed luck to assist his dueling skills against an opponent who was more athletic and capable of fielding action cards.

Ever since he was young Yuu loved action duels, Sakaki Yuushou was his idol and hero! Growing up he fine-tuned his mind to know to every card, every deck, every strategy. He was always thinking turns ahead of his opponents, out-thinking them at every move. He was prodigy duelist for sure but once he was finally able to compete in real action duels, things got more difficult.

Yuu was not physically unhealthy but always considered just average in physical sports. Normally his superior mind would allow him to overwhelm any opponent but in some rare cases he would face someone with the body of an Olympian. An aspect of the game where he was out-class. He hated being out-classed. He incorporated daily exercise into his duelist training but even after years physically training he was still only slightly above-average at being physically fit. His body would never be as sharp as a weapon as his mind was.

After the extensive workout Yuu met with his manager and the rest of his crew. It seemed a special exhibition match was set-up as Yuu's next match. His manager brought up a picture on the projector of his next opponent; Carlos, the Olympic medalist in sprinting and marathons. Known as the fastest duelist in the world. In his past 86 official duels, not one opponent had collected an Action Card against him.

One of Yuu's friends asked, “For real? I heard he was visiting the country but still.”

Another friend added, “Lots of foreigners have frightening talents. What country is he from again? I heard it was...”

“It doesn't matter!” Yuu interrupted, “Where someone is born doesn't affect how good of a duelist they are. The amount of studying and training they do does. I am not afraid of this Carlos.”

Yuu's manager explained, “The duel is set-up to be a single game, no match. Carlos gets to decide the action field which he is certainly going to chose Spicy Volcano as he always does since it matches his hyper burn strategy. As a courtesy though he has offered to let you choose who will take the first turn.”

Yuu nodded and proudly said, “I will take the first turn. Now excuse me, I need to go make a deck for this duel.”

 

/-/-/-/-/-/

 

It was the day of the duel. As expected Carlos selected Spicy Volcano as the duel field. It was filled with Action cards that did burn damage. Yuu had studied footage of Carlos's previous duels and analyzed his strategy to out-run his opponents to every single Action card and burn their life points down to zero without them able to grab a single one. Several duelist had tried against all odds to outrun Carlos and beat him to an Action card and everyone has failed. The crowd did not have much faith in Yuu for today's match. The bets were all stacked against him.

Both players drew their opening 5 cards and the duel began. The second it did Carlos took off to grab the nearest Action card. Yuu quickly activated Upstart Goblin to draw a card and increase Carlos's life points by 1000. Then Yuu activated a second Upstart Goblin. After drawing he normal summoned Thousand-Eyes Idol, a level 1 normal Spellcaster monster with 0 ATK.

At that moment Carlos activated his first Action card which inflicted 800 damage to Yuu and dropped his life points down to 3200.

“Even though he hasn't taken his first turn yet Carlos has already dealt damage while meanwhile all Yuu has done is increase Carlos's life points and wasted his normal summon for the turn on a monster with no ATK and no effect! What a disappointment!” the announcer explained.

Yuu equipped Thousand-Eyes Idol with Wonder Wand and then sent both to the graveyard to draw 2 cards. He then activated Hand Destruction to force both players to discard 2 cards to draw 2 cards. Carlos was already almost at the second Action card so he was annoyed that he had to choose 2 cards to discard and then draw 2 more, it distracted him from his Action card hunting.

Yuu then activated Tri-Wright to special summon Thousand-Eyes Idol and the 2 monsters he discard, Flamvell Guard and Sectarian of Secrets to the field. He then tuned Thousand-Eyes Idol and Flamvell Guard to synchro summon Formula Synchron which allows him to draw a card.

Carlos activated another Action Card to burn Yuu for 800 more damage and bring him down to 2400.

“Yuu in't even trying to go after Action cards. He is just completely focused on drawing cards for his first turn even though he may not even have another turn if this continues.” exclaimed the announcer.

Yuu activated Hand Destruction discarding another Thousand-Eyes Idol and Galaxy Serpent to draw 2 cards.Yuu then activated Cards Of Consonance allowing him to discard another Flamvell Guard to draw 2 cards. Yuu then activated another Tri-Wright to bring back Flamvell Guard and 2 Thousand-Eyes Idol. He tuned Formula Synchron, Sectarian of Secrets, and Thousand-Eyes Idol to synchro summon T.G. Hyper Librarian.

Carlos activated a third Action Card to drop Yuu's life points to 1800.

“Carlos might win this duel before he ever takes his first turn!”

Yuu then tuned Flamvell Guard with Thousand-Eyes Idol to synchro summon another Formula Synchron. Its effect allowed him to draw a card and so did T.G. Hyper Librarian. He then activated his third and last Tri-Wright to special summon 2 Thousand-Eyes Idol and Flamvel Guard. He again tuned an Thousand-Eyes Idol and Flamvell Guard to synchro Formula Synchron allowing him to draw 2 more cards. Then he tuned 1 of his Formula Synchrons with his remaining Thousand-Eyes Idol to synchro summon Mist Bird Clausolas, allowing him to draw a card through the effect of T.G. Librarian.

Yuu activated One For One by discarding Galaxy Serpent allowing him to special summon Glow-Up Bulb from his deck. He then tuned Glow-Up Bulb with Mist Bird Clausolas to synchro summon Underworld Fighter Balmung, again he drew a card thanks to T.G. Hyper Librarian. Then he tuned Underworld Fighter Balmung with Formula Synchron to synchro summon Gaia Knight, The Force Of Earth. After he drew his card from T.G. Hyper Librarian he activated the effect of Glow-Up Bulb to revive itself from the graveyard once and then tuned it with Gaia Knight, The Force Of Earth to synchro summon Scrap Archfiend and draw a card through T.G. Hyper Librarian.

Carlos activated his fourth Action card and took Yuu down to just 800 life points. He took off at top speed to the final Action card that would defeat Yuu before he even took his first turn.

Yuu activated White Elephant's Gift to send Scrap Archfiend to the graveyard to draw 2 cards. Then he quickly activated his third Upstart Goblin bringing Carlos up to 7000 life points. As he drew his card, Carlos was a hair-length away from the last action card!

“I reveal my hand that has all five pieces of Exodia, I win the duel!”

That last action card dissipated right though Carlos's fingers as the whole crowd erupted in cheers! Sakuragi Yuu had performed an Exodia First-Turn Kill and overcame Carlos's physical prowess at abusing burn Action cards.

Yuu left the field waving to his cheering fans. When he got backstage he was met by his manager who was raving, “That was amazing! Everyone wants to buy your deck! I think we can even sell merchandise off of it!”

Yuu casually threw his deck box at him, “Go ahead and sell it, every card in it. This deck would be terrible in a match. Once they side-in the right cards against it, it would be impossible to win with. I am off to go make another deck.”

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prompt: Relationships/Shipping.

Sakuragi Yuu was feeling so drowsy and tired that he could barely keep his eyes open. The line at his favorite coffee shop was long and it seemed like one of their baristas had called off so it was taking them forever to make all these drinks. He knew that he shouldn't even be having coffee right now, his coach said he should cut back on it as he needed a healthier diet to stay competitive in Action duels. But he had a ton of exams coming up that he studied all night for. Between duel practice and cramming for school he wasn't finding much time to sleep lately. He couldn't help but tap his fingers on the table in his annoyance. He could be using this time more effective right now like to study more or beat some rookie duelist. This was the most anxious he was feeling in a long time.

“Caramel macciato and... another caramel macciato.”

When they finally called out his drink he rushed to the counter in a reckless hurry. His hand reached for the cup so suddenly that his hand brushed up against the cup next to his cup and tipped over all over the counter.

“Eeeaaak!”

Luckily nobody got drenched in hot coffee but Yuu looked over his shoulder to see a beautiful girl his age. She had long blond hair, stunning brown eyes, and a really adorable blue dress. Her face looked innocent but full of life and curiosity.

Yuu let out a heavy sigh as he said in much embarrassment, “I take it that was your drink I just spilled.”

The girl gave a slight nod as she bit her lip, she seemed more embarrassed than mad. What did she have to be embarrassed about?

“Hey look here,” Yuu said without much certainly of what he was trying to say, “that was a real bonehead move of me and I wouldn't be a gentleman if you had to suffer due to my mistake. Sounds like we got the same exact drink, what are the odds, so just take this one I got here.” Yuu turned towards the barista and handed his credit card to him, “Just make me another caramel macciato, you know to be safe just make me two of them.”

The girl nervously said, “No I couldn't accept that. You look like you are in a real hurry, just take yours and I will wait for the new one.”

Yuu got his card back and sat back down at a nearby table, without grabbing his coffee. Yuu flung his head back and let out a frustrated sigh. Then out of the corner of his eye he noticed movement at the other end of the table, it was that girl sitting down across from him with the coffee he gave her.

She shyly explained, “You look like you could use some company while you wait. Do you mind?”

Yuu couldn't help but smile. He had given this girl the worst first impression of him ever and yet she was still being so kind to him. She didn't owe him anything, he spilled her drink after all. “Don't see why you want to but yeah some company would be nice, I guess.”

“You look kind of familiar?” the girl wondered. “I hope you are not some kind of big name celebrity. I would feel even worse about taking your coffee.”

Yuu chuckled as he explained, “I am pretty big and I am only going to get bigger. I am the Regional Junior Youth Duel Monsters Champion, Sakuragi Yuu.”

“Ohh!” the girl exclaimed as she looked like she had stars in her eyes, “The Duel Monsters Champion spilled my coffee! And then gave me his! I am so lucky! I have always wanted to meet a celebrity. I have never really been good at anything so I admire people that have a special talent they get recognized for.”

“Well not everyone is good at stuff. Most people just suck at everything. Only a select few that train and study really hard get to be praised for their abilities.” Yuu noticed that the girl was drinking her drink very slowly as if trying to hide behind the cup as her cheeks turned red. “Umm... but who knows maybe you are one of the elite as well. Sometimes people have hidden natural born talents that they don't find out about until later.”

The girl put the drink down and starred down at her cup, “I doubt it. I am always just there, another face in the crowd. The fact that a champion is even sitting across the table from me seems like such a fluke... well I guess I sat across from you actually.”

Yuu grunted, “Well you need to work hard to get noticed. Nobody just shines the spotlight on you. You need to demand that the spotlight be put on you. Besides someone as cute as you, I find it hard to believe that people don't pay attention to you. What is your name anyways?”

The girl blinked rapidly as her brain seemed frozen for a moment, “I don't get called cute very often... oh yeah my name is Suda Merii.”

Yuu gave a smug look as he asked, “Well miss Suda, may I have you phone number?”

“Course! Also please just call me Merii.”

After they exchanged numbers Merii was ecstatic but Yuu's exhaustion was kicking back in. Merii politely asked, “Um do you want a sip of this? I mean it was your drink after all.”

Yuu laughed, “Nah it is yours now. Besides I have another one on the way, two of them actually... well eventually at least.”

Merii slowly sided the drink across the table, “Please take a sip. I don't mind.”

Yuu did so and felt much more refreshed. Then for the next minute they both just stared at each other locked in the other's gaze. Finally Merri turned away slightly as she as embarrassed and quickly thought of a way to start conversation again, “So how did you learn Duel Monsters?”

“Wait do you not know how to play?” Yuu asked.

Merii looked down and shook her head, “When I was younger I tried to get my older brother to teach me but he wouldn't.”

“I'll tell you what, I will call you tonight at seven o'clock and we can meet up so I can teach you. Does sound good to you?” Yuu explained.

Merri was shocked, “Sound good, that sounds awesome! But why would someone as good as you want to bother teaching me?”

Yuu snickered, “Even the best pros need to review the basics sometimes, it helps us from forgetting the obvious in tense match-ups. Besides life has been stressful lately and I think a really cute girl in it would make it less stressful.”

His new drinks were called out. He slowly got up and grabbed them gently. He then held one out in front of Merii, “Take a sip, it is only fair since I took a sip of yours.”

Merii took a slow long sip of Yuu's coffee.

Yuu asked with a sly smile, “So do we have a date tonight?”

 

/-/-/-/-/-/

 

Over the next month Yuu and Merii went on several dates together. Indeed Yuu's life did feel less stressful. The workload was still as heavy as ever but when he was hanging out with his girlfriend he just felt like he was floating on a cloud. He had many sessions of teaching her Duel Monsters. She wasn't a fast learner but she was enjoying herself learning. One particular day they decided to go to a grand prix tournament together. It would be Merri's first real official tournament and for Yuu it would be another championship to add to his prestigious collection.

The first couple of rounds were difficult for Yuu. His opponents were quite skilled and he kept making ridiculous mistakes but he was still able to win them all. Meanwhile Merii lost all of her duels. In-between each round Yuu would help her analyze what she did wrong and how she could improve her game-play. Merri wasn't discouraged or upset by her loses at all, she was just happy to be there with her boyfriend Yuu.

As the day neared its end, Merii did not win a single duel all day yet she still had fun. Meanwhile only the top eight duelists were allowed to continue the tournament. Merri was given a VIP seat to watch Yuu duel in the top eight. After many intense duels, Yuu came in fifth place. He was devastated by his loss. He had just not played his best Duel Monsters today. His moves were just filled with sub-optimal plays and mistakes he should have never made. In his despair he looked up and towards Merri who had a large smile and was still cheering for him. He didn't feel so bad after-all. The first place duelist didn't have Suda Merri, he did and she was amazing.

After the tournament Merri ran over to Yuu and gave him a giant hug as she kissed him several times. They both wanted to spend more time together but the tournament had been very long and it was already quite late so they agreed to meet-up again tomorrow night.

 

/-/-/-/-/-/

 

The next morning Yuu met with his manager and dueling team. Everyone has serious grim expressions as if someone had died.

“What is a matter everyone?” asked a confused Yuu.

One of his friends answered, “Have you seen the article about you on Duelist Tomato dot com?”

Yuu was shocked, “What? You mean that click-bait garage news site? They wrote something about me? Who cares, nobody reads that junk anyways?”

His manager clarified, “They are reading _this_ article. It is one of their most popular articles ever on the site. All about how the Junior Youth Duel Monsters Champion is trading in his cards for roses. They say now that you are in love you don't care or respect the game anymore! They have tons of pictures of you all over that girl trying to teach her the cards.”

As Yuu looked at the candid photos they took of him and Merii at the tournament he slammed his fist against the wall, “They can't do that!”

His manager smirked, “You know the tournament policy on privacy, you give it up to the media when you enter. You are supposed to be preparing for every match and contemplating mistakes of the previous round yet we see a gratuitous amount of evidence that you wasted your time trying to help that loser out instead of yourself.”

Yuu screamed out, “Shut the hell up! Don't you dare call her that!”

Yuu's friends backed-up his manager, “He is right Yuu and you know it. We have all been concerned about your... relationship. You keep skipping practice to be with her and your grades are slipping too. We have never liked her or approved of her, nobody here has.”

Yuu tried to defend himself while holding back tears, “That doesn't matt...”

“Yes it does Yuu!” his manager cut him off. “You know how much less money you made yesterday by taking fifth and not first! We have a budget to stick to if you want to go to the international championship. Also everyone is reading this article and taking note of it. Your sponsors are very disappointed in your performance yesterday and I have already been told that you will be cut off if you do not take first place this weekend.”

Yuu just stared at the ground in silence. His friends went on saying, “Yeah this girlfriend is no good for you man. You need to ditch her.”

Another friend added, “Seriously man you worked so hard to be champion and you are going to lose it over something this silly. What happened to your dedication to dueling? We all looked up to you.”

An ultimatum was issued, “What is more important to you? Your dueling career or this girl?”

 

/-/-/-/-/-/

 

Yuu met up with Merii later that night and was barely able to get the words out, “Sweetie... I think we need... I need some space.”

Merii screamed out, “What! Why? I saw that Duelist Tomato article, is this about that.”

Yuu was silent and just turned his head away in shame. Merri yelled, “You are really going to dump me because you got made fun of? Is that all our relationship means to you? Is your image that fragile?”

Yuu was fighting hard to hold back the tears as he said, “I am not... I just need a break. I need to focus on dueling more. It is my career and how I make a living.”

“Is that really how you feel? Or are you just being peer-pressured into it? You think I don't realize that none of your friends like me? I see it. They are jealous of me. They don't like that you smile more around me than them. Are you really that much of a coward?”

Yuu turned around and said softly, “I need to be champion again...”

Merri walked away saying, “Good-bye Sakuragi Yuu, heartless spineless champion. I never want to see you again!”

 

/-/-/-/-/-/

 

The weekend came and Yuu was on top of his game. Nothing else in his life mattered. Dueling was all there was. It was the only thing his mind could focus on. He even finally kicked his coffee addiction. He had studied non-stop all week and had memorized all the best decks that would be used this weekend along with all the best cards to counter them. His dueling, it was all he had.

After Yuu took first place the crowd went wild. Everybody was happy to see the champion return to the top of his game after the embarrassing fluke he had last weekend. Reporters were pushing each other out of the way to get to Yuu and congratulate him.

Despite the noise when he won the duel he had only heard silence. The tournament was over, his dueling had ended for the day. He lifted his head and looked towards the VIP section to look for Merri but she was nowhere to be found. He quickly pulled out his cell phone and called her number but he had been blocked from it. He really would never see her again.

He had won the duel and was now the champion once again. So why did he feel like such a sad loser?

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes her name is derived from "Mary Sue".

**Author's Note:**

> Yes I made a deck just like this. I can provide the decklist if needed.


End file.
